Yard Drainage and French Drains in Crawfordsville, IN
Crawfordsville is an older town on Sugar Creek, and the drainage calls come from older houses: downspouts tied into tile that collapsed decades ago, yards that have settled toward the foundation, and farm parcels at the edge of town where the ditch is a legal drain. Travis finds the cause, then fixes it.
- Free estimates
- Based in Greencastle, Indiana
- One crew, first cut to final grade
Yard drainage in Crawfordsville
An older town on Sugar Creek
Crawfordsville was founded in 1823 on the bank of Sugar Creek, and it is the Montgomery County seat and Wabash College's town. It grew hardest in the 1800s and early 1900s, which means a large share of its 7,300 housing units are old. The ground falls from the neighborhoods down toward the creek, which is the one thing working in the yard's favor.
The problems are the ones old towns get. Downspouts that were tied into clay tile a lifetime ago now empty into a crushed pipe at the footing. Lots have settled toward the house. And out past the city limits, the ditch at the back of the property may be a legal drain with its own rules.
Old houses, old downspout lines
The most common Crawfordsville call is a damp basement or crawl space in a house built before the Second World War. Somebody once ran the downspouts underground, into clay tile that went to the street, the alley or a dry well. That tile has collapsed or silted shut, so the roof water now goes straight down beside the foundation.
Travis digs the old line out, replaces it with solid pipe that has real fall, and runs it to an outlet that can take it. Then he regrades the first several feet around the house with clay so the surface sheds water too. On Grade does not do basement waterproofing or gutters; it stops the water getting to the wall in the first place.
The creek bottoms
Lots down near Sugar Creek sit on bottom ground with a high water table and, in places, mapped floodplain. The Indiana DNR floodplain portal shows whether an address is in it, and fill or anything built in the floodway needs the DNR's permit before work starts.
On those lots the fix is honest rather than ambitious. Nothing drains below the creek. What can be done is to shape the yard so rain leaves on the surface, keep the foundation high with regrading and buried downspouts, and run a swale toward the creek side so water does not sit against the house.
Farm parcels: legal drains and the petition
Around the edge of Crawfordsville, the ground was farmed and tiled, and many of the ditches and tile mains are legal drains. The Montgomery County Surveyor's office, on Constitution Row in Crawfordsville, supervises their maintenance and reconstruction, and the county Drainage Board acts on them. Nothing is tied into a legal drain, or built or fenced along one, without asking that office first.
The surveyor's office has a petition for attaching a parcel to a legal drain, which is the formal route if your tile needs an outlet into the county system. The regulated drains guide explains how legal drains work across Indiana and how to tell whether yours is one.
What the ground does and what works on it
Away from the creek, Montgomery County is glacial till like the rest of central Indiana. Miami soils on the slopes drain moderately well; Crosby soils on the flats are rated somewhat poorly drained by the USDA, with a perched water table in the top two feet through winter and spring. Water moves through either slowly.
So a French drain here collects and carries rather than soaks away, and it needs fall and a clean outlet. On the ground that tips toward the creek there is usually enough fall to run pipe to daylight. On the flats a catch basin at the low spot, tied to a line with fall, does the same job. The yard grading and drainage guide covers the choices.
Locates, one number and the lawn put back
Indiana 811 marks the buried utilities before a trench is opened, and the law gives them two full working days to do it. On Grade files the ticket. Old clay downspout lines and farm tile are not marked by 811, so Travis expects to find them. He walks the lot, finds where the water starts and where it can legally end, and gives one figure with pipe, stone, hauling and seeding in it. Estimates are free.
Crawfordsville is thirty-five minutes north of Greencastle, and the work is part of the drainage work On Grade does across the area. A drive that washed can be rebuilt under gravel driveways in Crawfordsville. The Crawfordsville page covers the rest.
Yard Drainage & French Drains
Standing water on Indiana clay moved off yards and away from the house: regrading, swales, French drains, catch basins and buried downspouts.
See the serviceTalk to Travis(317) 203-8928
Call or text Travis with the address and the age of the house. He comes out, finds where the water is going now and gives you one number.
Call nowWhat that covers
- Downspout lines replaced. Collapsed clay tile at older houses dug out and replaced with solid pipe to a working outlet.
- Foundation regrading. Settled ground around the house built back up with clay so it sheds water.
- Legal drain connections. Tile run to a county drain the right way, with the surveyor's office asked first.
- French drains and basins. Perforated pipe or a catch basin at the low spot, with fall, run to daylight or an outlet.
Crawfordsville, IN
The Montgomery County seat and Wabash College's town, 35 minutes north of Greencastle, with older neighborhoods and Sugar Creek bottoms.
Town pageAlso in CrawfordsvilleDemolition & Removal in Crawfordsville, IN
See the pageAlso in CrawfordsvilleGravel Driveways in Crawfordsville, IN
See the pageThe serviceYard Drainage & French Drains
Standing water on Indiana clay moved off yards and away from the house: regrading, swales, French drains, catch basins and buried downspouts.
Main service pageCrawfordsville and the towns nearby
Crawfordsville is the north end of the ground On Grade covers, and the same work runs south through Montgomery and Putnam counties to the shop. See yard drainage in Greencastle, thirty-five minutes down US-231, where the ground rolls and the fixes are similar, and yard drainage in Danville over in Hendricks County. Ladoga, Waveland, New Market and the farm parcels between are the same trip.
You get Travis. One crew, first cut to final grade.
You call
You call or send the form. Travis comes out and looks at the job with you, on the ground, rather than pricing it off a photograph.
A number first
You get one figure before anything starts, with the hauling and the finish grading in it.
One crew does it
Then the same crew that quoted it shows up and does the work, first cut to final grade.
Ground left usable
Voids get filled and the ground is graded back so you can pour, build or seed.
Photos of his work.
These are photographs from actual jobs. See more recent work. Or read about the full yard drainage & french drains service.
Questions people ask
Not seeing yours? Call (317) 203-8928 and ask Travis, or read the guides.
My old Crawfordsville house has downspouts that go underground. Are they the problem?
Often, yes. Older houses in town had downspouts run into clay tile that has since collapsed or silted shut, so the roof water now empties beside the foundation. The old line is dug out and replaced with solid pipe with fall, run to an outlet that can take it.
Who do I ask about the ditch behind my property?
If it is a legal drain, the Montgomery County Surveyor's office on Constitution Row in Crawfordsville supervises it and the county Drainage Board acts on it. Ask them before tying in, building or fencing along it. There is a formal petition for attaching a parcel to a legal drain.
Can a lot near Sugar Creek be drained?
Not below the creek. On bottom ground the water table rises with the creek. What works is regrading so rain leaves on the surface, burying the downspouts away from the house and running a swale toward the creek side. If the lot is in mapped floodplain, the DNR has a say over fill.
Will a French drain work on the clay here?
Yes, if it is built to carry water rather than soak it away. Crosby and Miami clays let water through slowly, so the pipe needs fall and a clean outlet. On ground that tips toward the creek there is usually enough fall to run it to daylight.
Is Crawfordsville too far from Greencastle?
No. It is about thirty-five minutes up US-231, and On Grade works across Montgomery County from Greencastle. Travis prices the whole job in one figure, with the hauling and seeding in it, rather than adding a trip charge.
Other work he takes on
Most jobs end up being two or three of these at once, and they get quoted together.
Yard Drainage & French Drains in other towns
Excavation & Site Prep
Sites stripped, cut and graded, ready for the builder.
Learn moreFoundation & Basement Excavation
Basements, crawl spaces and footings dug to grade and backfilled.
Learn moreDrainage, Culverts & Utilities
Water moved off yards and away from foundations; culverts and service lines set.
Learn moreDriveways & Finish Grading
Gravel drives built and crowned; yards finish graded for seed.
Learn moreLand Clearing & Forestry Mulching
Lots and acreage cleared, brush mulched in place.
Learn moreBuilding & Pole Barn Pads
Pads cut, filled and compacted for barns, shops and houses.
Learn moreFree estimate in Crawfordsville.
Call or text Travis. Free estimates, straight answers.
Greencastle, Indiana · Putnam, Hendricks, Boone and Marion counties
Need yard drainage in Crawfordsville?
Call or text Travis with the address and what you are trying to do.